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Today’s Big News

Apr 29, 2025

Eli Lilly pens Creyon Bio AI oligonucleotide pact with $1B in biobucks on the table

FDA misses PDUFA date for Stealth’s rare disease candidate, delaying approval decision—again

AstraZeneca culls Lilly-partnered Alzheimer’s drug alongside 2 other neuroscience meds in Q1 clear-out

Novartis axes osteoarthritis asset and radioligand therapy after seeing clinical data

Octagon shuts down after R&D challenges put it behind the 8 ball

Biohaven, after setbacks, sees shares jump with Oberland Capital funding agreement worth up to $600M

HHS lifts stop work order on Vaxart's COVID-19 trial, continues funding for the 10,000-participant study

Ferrer inks licensing deal worth up to €500M for Prilenia's ALS asset

Featured

Eli Lilly pens Creyon Bio AI oligonucleotide pact with $1B in biobucks on the table

By Ben Adams

Eli Lilly is paying $13 million upfront, with $1 billion in biobucks up for grabs, for the opportunity to develop AI-designed oligonucleotide therapies from Creyon Bio.

FDA misses PDUFA date for Stealth’s ultra-rare disease candidate, delaying approval decision—again

By Gabrielle Masson

An approval decision for Stealth BioTherapeutics’ investigational treatment for an ultra-rare genetic disease has been delayed—again—this time, with no new decision date given.

AstraZeneca culls a Lilly-partnered Alzheimer's drug alongside 2 other neuroscience meds in Q1 clear-out

By Ben Adams

AstraZeneca has axed three MedImmune legacy monoclonal antibody drugs from its neuroscience pipeline in a first-quarter clear-out.

Novartis axes osteoarthritis asset and radioligand therapy after seeing clinical data

By Nick Paul Taylor

Novartis has done a little spring cleaning, sweeping a phase 2 osteoarthritis prospect and first-in-human radioconjugate out of its pipeline after assessing evidence on the programs.

Octagon shuts down after R&D challenges put it behind the 8 ball

By Nick Paul Taylor

Octagon Therapeutics has thrown in the towel. The Novo Nordisk-allied autoimmune disease biotech is winding down after deprioritizing its lead program and running into unresolved biology questions.

Biohaven, after setbacks, sees shares jump with Oberland Capital funding agreement worth up to $600M

By Zoey Becker

The company's shares jumped nearly 10% as of Monday afternoon, a welcome reprieve after the company's withdrawn bid for a European marketing authorization sparked concern among investors.

HHS lifts stop work order on Vaxart's COVID-19 trial, continues funding for the 10,000-participant study

By Gabrielle Masson

The Department of Health and Human Services has lifted a stop work order on Vaxart’s phase 2b trial testing out an investigational COVID-19 vaccine pill, with the biotech resuming plans to enroll participants for the 10,000-person study.

Ferrer inks licensing deal worth up to €500M for Prilenia's ALS asset

By Darren Incorvaia

Dutch biotech Prilenia Therapeutics has entered a licensing pact with Spanish pharmaceutical company Ferrer to push the biotech's sole asset through clinical development and beyond in Europe.

Abeona enters commercial gene therapy arena with FDA nod for Zevaskyn to treat rare genetic skin disease

By Eric Sagonowsky

Abeona is gearing up for a third-quarter launch of its new topical gene therapy after an FDA approval.

Senators call for probe into brain-computer interfaces, neural data collection and security practices

By Conor Hale

Three Democrats called for an investigation into brain-computer interface devices, to make sure the data they collect is not simply sold for profit.

Fierce podcasts

Don’t miss an episode

Angus on Angus: A Fierce oncology discussion

Two journalists, one name and a candid conversation—Angus Liu and Angus Chen talk cancer reporting, racial identity and being mistaken for each other.

Managing diabetes with cultural foods

Navigating Trump’s tariffs for pharma

Resources

eBook

Through a CRO's perspective: Innovative, Agile Solutions In Vaccine Efficacy Testing

Typical vaccine development timelines have averaged 10 years, but the time from the SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequence’s release to the submission of the first vaccine clinical trial data for regulatory review was a mere 314 days. In IQVIA Laboratories’ Vaccine eBook we focus on how contract research organizations (CROs) can best leverage strategic partnerships with sponsors to prepare for the next pandemic.

Protect Your Trial Data: Endpoint, Imaging, and Safety Review

Is your clinical trial data truly reliable? Learn how a combined approach using Imaging Core Labs and Endpoint Adjudication Committees (EAC) can minimize risk, control costs, and strengthen your study from the ground up. Don’t leave success to chance—arm yourself with the insights to stay ahead.

Best Practice Customer-Facing Organization Study Report

We interviewed 15 biopharma leaders on the critical success factors for building a Best Practice customer-facing organization. This report shares what we learned.

Presented by Blue Matter, strategic consultants in the life sciences